Council defends the options put forward in consultation

The council has reaffirmed its commitment to engaging with the Galashiels community over the new school campus following criticism at a recent meeting.

An informal consultation on the proposed location for the new Galashiels Academy campus was launched by Scottish Borders Council (SBC) in March.

The decision was taken to continue with ‘Option 3’ – to build within the existing school boundary and on a portion of Scott Park – despite 72 comments being submitted objecting to the plans.

At this month’s meeting of Galashiels Community Council, the consultation was criticised by member of the public Richard Lees.

“After they looked at all the consultation they received, where 70-odd people were opposed to Option 3 and 20 people approved it, they just decided to go ahead with it anyway,” said Mr Lees. “It just seems like a flawed process.

“The council project that Option 3 was the only viable option but if you look at the actual council report they earnestly say that all five options were viable. I would say it’s a flawed process and it needs more attention.”

A further period of consultation is “currently ongoing”, according to a spokesperson for SBC. A full planning application for the campus will be submitted later in the summer.

Another public consultation will follow to allow members of the community to feedback their views on final plans.

A statutory education consultation, focused on the educational benefits of the campus, will also take place with the aim of gathering feedback from the school community, says the local authority.

On the consultation process so far, the spokesperson added: “The council is committed to engaging with the Galashiels community as plans are developed and finalised for the replacement of Galashiels Academy.

“A decision was made to hold public consultation via an online, interactive website space whilst restrictions were in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the interests of public safety.

“It also allowed us to progress the project despite the uncertainty of the pandemic and keep us on track to meet our deadline of completing the new campus by 2025, which we are required to do as a condition of the funding support committed by the Scottish Government.

“Along with the statutory consultations that the council is required by law to undertake, an additional informal consultation was arranged allowing us to engage with the wider community from the earliest opportunity and gather vital public feedback on a range of potential proposals for the replacement of the existing school. This was widely publicised by the council and in local media.

“In addition to the online consultation space, exhibition boards were also installed at Galashiels Transport Interchange for the duration of the informal consultation.

“The feedback from this initial consultation was ultimately used to inform the council’s decision making as plans for the project were progressed and developed.”

 

Article originally appeared on Border Telegraph.

The Institute cannot confirm the accuracy of this story or confirm that it presents a balanced view. If you feel this is inaccurate we would welcome your perspective and evidence that this is the case

Shopping Basket
Scroll to Top

Your membership questions answered

View our frequently asked questions or contact our dedicated account manager for further support.

You can reset your password here. If you’re still having issues, please send us a message below.

We have many ways you can pay for your membership.

  • Credit card
  • Online
  • Invoice
  • PO
  • Monthly

You can renew/upgrade your membership here.

To find out more, send us a message below.

You will receive a reminder email from our dedicated membership account manager 4 weeks before your renewal date. This email will contain all the information you need to renew.

You can also renew your membership online here.

You can update your contact details here. Alternatively, please send a message to our membership account manager below.

Please send a message to our membership account manager below. 

Still need support?

Our dedicated Membership Account Manager is on
hand to assist with any questions you might have.

Request a callback

Leave a message and our team will call you back

"*" indicates required fields

Name*

Send us a message

We’ll be in touch with you soon.

Name(Required)
Email(Required)